This book wasn't really for me. I just didn't vibe with the writing style and I couldn't keep up with the three-timelines-at-once storytelling.

That said, the setting was fascinating and I flew through this book. While this is tagged as romantasy, it's really not that romantic and focuses far more heavily on the sex.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Two men fated to find each other in every life time, ancient Asian palaces, nine-tailed fox spirits, and a story of everlasting love and betrayal.

The Emperor and the Endless Palace is a story over 3 timelines. In these timelines two men have to balance their desires for safety, power, and love. Readers will be taken through 4 BCE China, the wild woods of 1740, and present day LA circuit parties as the three timelines blend and diverge in an epic story full of danger and desire.

I loved every moment of this book. It is difficult to fit 3 fully developed relationships into one novel but TEATEP was able to hook me into each storyline and care about each character within their own timeline and how they fit in the story as a whole. At first the novel does feel a bit like instant love between the characters but as the story progresses and the pieces fit together the reader is painted a complete portrait that is truly a masterpiece. The final portrait is honest in its tragedy and indulgent in its passion.

- I found THE EMPEROR AND THE ENDLESS PALACE to be a gorgeous and frustrating book. The concept is fantastic and romantic, but the execution left something to be desired.
- I loved this conception of fated mates, weaving in ancient mythology, welding this magic with the glitter of modern circuit parties.
- However, we jumped so quickly between timelines that the relationship didn’t actually have much space to grow beyond us just being told that they were drawn together. Any actual reasons or chemistry were absent.
- Some plot threads kind of disappeared, side characters reappeared or didn’t without much logic, and I’m honestly not sure what was happening in the final scenes.
- Side note: I see so many reviews hating on the euphemism “my influence,” but I thought it was funny, lol.

4.5 ⭐️

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is a brilliant work of fiction loosely based on Chinese history. The story follows queer Asian men from three different timelines and settings who are all somehow interconnected.

The descriptive prose, sense of adventure, and emotions captured within this part retelling are incredible. Some passages resonated deeply with me (especially concerning finding one's self and becoming who you are). There is the perfect amount of suspense and missing context that makes you want to keep reading to figure out what is happening and you can't help but wish for a happy ending as you sort out who is who and how their stories are connected.

*Possible spoilers re: story direction ahead*
I wouldn't call this story a romance. The conclusion is a little open-ended, which I generally don't like, but I think in this case, it was done well (although I do wish we were left with a little more). It's bittersweet and alludes to significant character growth. There is a little bit of a lack of depth for our romantic partners but I think it supports the notion presented that love isn't easy - it's multi-faceted - and our actions in love speak more than our words.

At times while reading, I had the thought that this story wasn't meant for me, but I adored it all the same. I think that anyone could appreciate the suspense, the twists, and the turns. It is a spicy gay male fantasy novel. Some reviewers have labelled it erotica; however, I disagree. The actual incidences of sex support the writing and aren't at all a main plot point. I think that many readers are likely not used to having descriptive sex scenes from this perspective. I would urge readers to go into this with an open mind and the knowledge that everyone deserves to see themselves reflected in our stories. In my opinion, the beautiful story that Justinian Huang has created is groundbreaking for the LGBTQ+ community where stories like this one are just starting to emerge and become mainstream.

A breathtaking debut.

Note - TW: non-consensual sex

Thank you Harlequin Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

No one is more disappointed than I am when I didn't love one of my most anticipated releases for this Spring. THE EMPEROR AND THE ENDLESS PALACE is marketed as a romantasy, it is certainly NOT. I am bummed because not only do I feel like this book is mismarketed as a romantasy, but this book fails to execute on its premise. Two souls meeting over and over again across generations and falling in love? What's not to love? What's not to love is the relationships between the two main characters are driven by lust and toxic relationship dynamics. There was no emotional intimacy between our love interests so I found it extremely difficult to root for their relationship across generations. The majority of the sex scenes felt overly gratuitous and didn't further the plot in any way, shape, or form. I really couldn't wait for this book to be over.

I will say, the audiobook was well done and I enjoyed the full cast narration but that's pretty much it,

The Emperor and the Endless Palace, follows two people who are connected by the threads of fate and wrapped up in a love story - their connection spans multiple lives, and they are re-incarnated and fated to find their way back to each other in every lifetime. While there isn't a lot of plot other than watching how their love starts and plays out but each time and how beautifully heartbreaking it can be. The author has done a fantastic job at writing a fast paced and captivating story the leaves you feeling statisfiingly content.

In The Emperor and The Endless palace two lovers are tied to each other across multiple lifetimes. There are some really interesting and poetic themes. The book was pretty sex focused, just know that.

The reincarnated lovers is one of my favorite tropes, so I was extremely excited for this book, but unfortunately the execution leaves a lot to be desired. It seems like this book wasn't served well by its marketing since it is not a romantasy and also skews toward erotica at times. I still really love the premise and will look for more reincarnation romantasy stories.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for a copy to review.

Although the erotica aspects of this didn't always work for me because of word choice that pulled me out of the moment, the actual relationships were interesting. This is not a sunshine and roses type of romance.

The plot was what pulled this up. I was really interested in how the story unraveled. Definitely messy and toxic, but I didn't feel it was romanticized by the end. I also liked how the different timelines were handled and how information is revealed to the audience over time.

I can see this working for a lot of people as long as they're not expecting a typical romance.

This was such a fun sexy queer novel filled with bits of history that made it an amazing read. Highly recommend to anyone who loves gay history.

My immediate thought when reading this was Cloud Atlas meets specific Chinese history (Emperor Ai of Han) and mythology with lots of gay sex, and that stayed true for a majority of my read. 😂 I enjoyed all of the different POVs, and feel like I had one fave timeline in the grand scheme of things. I must admit I got lost with the plot at some points, but appreciated the journey nonetheless. 👀

I enjoyed thie concept of the red string theory amd the reincarnation aspect of this story. And that it was boy love and hownthey obviously alwwys felt drawn to each other through every reincarnation

I didn’t finish this. All porn with no plot what so ever. There was no real character development or world building. Even the dialogue between the characters is immature and ridiculous! There’s no real relationship between any of the main characters that is meaningful. Overall, I had high hopes but was extremely disappointed. This was an arc and I really wanted to finish it but it just wasn’t doable for me.

Thank you Netgalley for the arc

This book follows 2 men through multiple timelines as they reincarnate and fall in love with each other in each lifetime they experience. I loved the world building in this book!! It had such beautiful imagery with ancient Chinese palaces and emperors, an innkeeper’s story in an enchanting forest setting, and a modern timeline in the rave scenes of LA.

The plot of this book was so intriguing and I couldn’t wait to find out how the timelines interconnected and where our MMC’s ended up. I did enjoy the writing style and overall enjoyed this book! It felt like a reimagining of an ancient Chinese story with some romance wrapped into it. In the end, I felt connected to the characters but it was heartbreaking and I wish I had more story about the MMC’s!

?????????? Did I hallucinate this book???????????

After discussing this book with a friend and reviewing the marketing materials I've received for this book, I have changed my rating to a 2. I think this book suffered from some bad marketing. While this book has romantic and fantasy elements, I'd describe it more as an erotic thriller than romantasy, which (to me) has a *significantly* different vibe. I would absolutely *not* call it a pure romance, as described by Booklist.

The concept here was really promising though to be honest, the writing did not do it for me. It was generally pretty bland and the erotic scenes left a lot to be desired. The pacing was a bit slow especially for a shorter book with mostly everything happening in the last third. There was no connection or chemistry between any of the characters, even in their original reincarnations, which felt disappointing because I wanted the draw and the emotional impact of following their journey through the lifetimes. I didn't get the force, undying love I was expecting. I also wished that the reincarnations had more linking them together rather.

Rollercoaster is definitely a good way to describe the plot of this book. It's completely unpredictable in a fever dream sort of way but didn't work for me at all.

CW sexual assault, dubcon, consensual & nonconsensual drug use, emotional manipulation, cheating, gore, death, ableism

DNF for now but I want to come back to this one for sure. This was definitely a "right book, wrong time" situation. At this point in the semester, my brain just didn't have the capacity for three storylines. Will definitely still be recommending this to people and getting a copy of my own when my brain is less fried.

The author clearly had a lot of fun writing this book 😂 and I'm totally for that! Somehow this one made me think a little of a chinese drama. Love the inspiration of the 9 tailed fox and being able to watch these soul mates as they go through time and discover each other over and over again.

Time is very fluid with this one, be prepared to be confused 😂. There are three timelines but even then there are flashbacks and things like that in each. I was saved by the fact the audiobook had different narrators based on the time 😂.

This one is also spicy but the romance between the two MCs is rather slow burn. Spice occurs with different characters at first. This one scene though, with the razorblade🤯😂. If you know, you know. Also, not the spice isn't always consensual.

Thanks to Harlequin trade publishing and NetGalley for the early copy and to Libro Fm for the ALC. All opinions are my own.

→1✰
dnf at 16%

my toxic trait is requesting arcs only for the cover
i didnt like the amount of spice in the first few chapters, but i guess that part is wholly on me. i noticed this wasn't for me but i could definitely see it having potential

thank you to netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me. I just couldn't get into it. Wasn't for me. I don't feel I should give it a star rating, as I did not read the entire thing, but NetGalley makes you give a star rating.

The Emperor and the Endless Palace is an intriguing debut novel, it is a story of folklore and tradition, of danger and betrayal, of lust and, ultimately, eternal love. Blending elements of romance, fantasy, and historical fiction.

The story spans multiple timelines, from ancient China to modern Los Angeles. Across these seemingly unrelated timelines woven together only by the twists and turns of fate, two men are reborn, lifetime after lifetime, these lovers are inexplicably drawn to each other, constantly tested by the worlds around them. 4 BCE - an ambitious courtier has a secret mission; 1740 - a lonely innkeeper seeks a rare medicine to help a mysterious visitor; present-day LA - a college student has a familiar feeling when meeting a beautiful stranger.

I appreciated the genre-bending nature of the book, and found it to be an unpredictable roller coaster ride. I like the captivating prose, the immersive world-building, and the way the narrative challenged traditional notions of love. Despite the slow pace, the exploration of queer love across different lifetimes, combined with elements of Chinese culture and history, court intrigue and drama, contributed to an engaging and entertaining reading experience.

Overall, "The Emperor and the Endless Palace" is a book that will appeal to readers who enjoy unconventional storytelling and are open to exploring themes of love, fate, and identity across different time periods.